The Forgotten Targaryen
by HouseMartell
Summary: What if Elia Martell and Rhaegar Targaryen had another daughter before leaving to King's Landing? This daughter, Elaine Martell, was left in Dorne and raised by Prince Doran. What happens when she goes to the capital herself? This story will explore that possibility, there will be some changes but it will for the most part follow the TV's storyline. Possible romance down the line
1. Chapter 1

**I just started watch Game of Thrones, and what can I say? I'm absolutely hooked, haha. I started reading some fanfics and was inspired to write some of my own. Not all of it will follow the show or books (I haven't read the books yet), so there might be some changes. I'm new to writing too so take it easy on me**

 **This story will explore the possibility of Rhaegar and Elia having another child before Robert's Rebellion, but this child was not with Elia when she was killed by The Mountain in King's Landing. What happens if Elia and Rhaegar's middle child was raised by Prince Doran of Dorne instead?**

 **I will start around the end of season 1, most likely. Their daughter, Elaine Targaryen, who goes by Elaine Martell, resides in Sunspear, where she was raised her whole life. She was raised as one of Prince Doran's daughters, and so she's unaware of who her real parents were.**

 **I haven't really come up with a direction yet, I suppose that this story will just develop as it goes. Hope to hear feedback!**

 **I do not own these characters**

"Princess!" Elaine woke up to her handmaiden opening the door to her chambers.

"Yes, Isabelle?" She rubbed at her eyes, still waking up.

"King Joffrey has arrived from King's Landing, your father requests that you get ready now. Come." She reached out a hand to lead Elaine out of bed and sat her down in front of her vanity. The two other young handmaidens, Elna and Anneria walked around her to start braiding her hair.

"Which dress, princess?" Isabelle asked, holding up two gowns. Elaine groaned in response, "I don't care, you can choose." She never was a fan of dressing up in those gowns; she didn't like how they looked or how they felt. Elaine was never a fan of dressing up like someone she wasn't.

She sighed and sat back in her chair, shooing away the young handmaidens doing her hair after they finished, "Why do I have to look nice?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes, "It _is_ the King, princess. Of course you have to look beautiful. Who knows, you may end up marrying him…" she began to joke.

Elaine scoffed, "Marry him? That _king_ can kiss my ar-"

"Elaine!" She turned to her right to see her father entering the room, with his guards behind him. "Have some respect. We have some very important guests visiting-"

"I heard," she grumbled and crossed her arms, "Tell me father, what business do they have here?"

The Prince kept his composure, fully aware of Elaine's temper tantrums, she reminded him more of his brother than himself at times – especially with the shared hatred of the Lannisters.

His silence gave her the answer, "You invited them? The Lannisters?!" She shook her head in disbelief.

He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, and she wanted to shake it off but she didn't, "We need to maintain good relations with the Lannisters. They're a powerful family, they hold the throne, and it is much more important to keep peace."

She scoffed, "Peace?" She turned to her handmaidens, "Out, all of you." Elaine eyed the her fathers' guards as well, "You two, out too." As soon as they left she stood up to straighten her night gown, as she hadn't changed yet. "Peace with the Lannisters, is that what you want? Do I have to remind you of what happened 17 years ago, father?"

The Prince looked down, "No, I remember clearly myself." He paused and looked up at her, "I also remember war. That is not something I want for our people. Not again."

"It does not have to be war, father! These people…these are the same people who had your sister, my cousins, _our family_ murdered. And you invite them to our home?!" She felt her blood beginning to boil. Although she was raised to remain neutral in most affairs, this was a subject that she felt _very_ strongly about.

"What else am I to do? Send them all back to King's Landing?" Prince Doran always had patience, but sometimes it took more than that to get a point across to the Princess.

Her jaw tightened, "What do they want then? Of all the places to visit, why here?"

"Joffrey's sister is to marry Trystane, a marriage pact arranged between myself and Tywin." He held his hand up before she could argue, "In return, Trystane will have a seat on their small council after they are married. It is important that our House remain in the fold."

Elaine took a seat again at her vanity, "I feel like there is something more to this, father."

He leaned forward and cupped her face, "There is, my Princess," he gave her a small kiss on her forehead, "You will be going to King's Landing as well."

She gasped in response, "You're going to marry me off, as well?"

Before he could respond, there was a knock on the door. "Prince Doran!" The handmaiden Isabelle called, "The King will be arriving here shortly! We need to get the Princess ready!"

He looked back at Elaine, "Do you trust me?" She nodded her head slowly, as upset as she was, she always had trust in her father, "Yes, of course."

"Then be patient, you will see what will happen." He motioned for his guards to come back in so that he could greet the King and his family, "Get ready now, we will speak later tonight, Princess."

The Princess nodded her head again, "Of course, father." She gestured for her handmaidens to come back in and continued to get ready for the King's arrival. Elaine leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes as the young girls braided her hair…silently praying that her father would also act in her best interest…


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own these characters**

The Princess stepped out of her chambers once she was ready. She wore her hair in a loose braid that wrapped around her shoulder, with an ivory silk gown that had a small slit in the front that enhanced her bust. The dress had short sleeves, along with small golden embellished stars, such as the ones in her House's sigil. She looked in the mirror one last time before leaving, everything appeared in place.

"Oh…my…" Joffrey trailed off after looking at the Princess, who entered the main chamber shortly after being introduced by her father. He walked up to her, examining her features. Elaine was a Martell in appearance, she had long, wavy black hair, golden olive skin, but also had some exotic features, such as her bright green eyes. "I knew Dorne had the most beautiful women, but you are something special." He smiled, making her feel both flattered and uncomfortable. Elaine noticed a small, redheaded girl behind the King who kept her head down. The girl looked up, which was when Elaine recognized her as Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell.

His uncle, the imp, Tyrion stood behind Joffrey. He cleared his throat and stepped forward to introduce himself to Elaine, "Princess Elaine, a pleasure to meet you. A shame I hadn't known about you earlier." He sneered, referencing to his betrothed behind him.

Joffrey stepped back, and introduced himself much more pleasantly by kissing her hand, "Princess Elaine, of course, it is great to see you."

She smirked, and bowed for the two men, "Thank you, your grace." She turned to Tyrion and smiled, "A pleasure to meet you, my lord." She'd heard many rumors about the little Lord, especially how he didn't seem to be like any of his other family members. She had a feeling that that was true, as she noticed how annoyed he looked with King Joffrey.

He kissed her hand lightly, "The pleasure is mine, Princess Elaine."

Her father had made his introductions as well, and the King was surprisingly respectful to Prince Doran, contrary to the other rumors she'd heard about him. Elaine noticed again how Lady Sansa only kept her head down, until Joffrey had her introduce herself. The King elbowed Sansa in the side, "Don't be so disrespectful, my lady. Introduce yourself." He almost barked, having some restraint in front of his hosts.

Sansa stepped forward meekly, looking over her shoulder back at Joffrey before bowing before Elaine and Prince Doran. "Hello Prince Doran and Princess Elaine. It is a pleasure to meet you." She maintained eye contact for a second before looking away again. The King noticed and was not pleased with her disrespect, "Sir Meryn, can you have a talk with her about respect?"

As Ser Meryn yanked Lady Sansa, Prince Doran spoke up quickly, "Your grace, she has not offended us. She has been everything but rude," he smiled and continued, "We are honored to have all of you as our guests." Elaine nodded along with her father, feeling sorry for the girl. She had been aware of what she'd been through in the past month, and was hoping that the young lady would be able to get home to Winterfell soon. "Lady Sansa, might I show you around our Great Hall?"

Sansa looked surprised and too terrified to answer, but she responded as she was too scared to see how Joffrey would react, "I would love that, my lady." She managed to stutter. Elaine smiled in return, hoping to show Sansa that she wasn't going to hurt her. She walked over to Sansa and linked her arm in hers, leading the two of them out of the main hall. She turned to see Joffrey shake his head and whisper something to Sir Meryn, before returning to speak with her father.

* * *

Down in the gardens, the two girls walked together, taking in the scenery. "Tell me, my lady, why does he treat you so terribly?" Elaine asked, with her arm in Lady Sansa's.

The young girl stopped and appeared frightened, "He-he does not treat me terribly, Princess. He treats me like-like a true queen." She managed to stutter, but did not convince the Princess. Sansa was not a very good liar.

"Hm. I find that hard to believe, my lady. Do you love him?" Elaine expected a similar response but asked anyways.

Sansa gulped before responding as confidently as she could, "Of course, Princess Elaine. He has kept me safe and will make me queen and I will have his children someday." Elaine found it extremely hard to believe and felt sorry for the young girl. She wished there was more that they could do, but doubted she could really get through to the young lady.

"Fair enough, Sansa." Elaine wanted to change the subject, "What do you think of my home so far?"

A smile crept on Sansa's face unexpectedly, the first one Elaine had seen from the lady, "It is beautiful, Elaine. We are very lucky to be here."

Elaine smiled in response, "And we are very lucky to have you here."

* * *

Oberyn watched as the two young women walked together with their arms linked in the gardens. He shook his head, still in disbelief. He felt a hand on his shoulder, "My lover, come here, we can go to your chambers..."

He sighed, "Right, of course..."

Oberyn knew of his brother's plans, he helped come up with them as well. But it was different actually having a Baratheon and Lannister in their home. They did not belong here. But he knew it was what had to be done if they ever wanted to destroy the two houses. He turned back to his lover, Ellaria, and followed her to his chambers. It was in everyone's best interest that he kept his distance from the royal guests.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own these characters. Also there will be some AU elements, so if you're not into that, sorry about that. Bear with me on the changes too, as I am only on the first book and have watched the show. There are going to be some differences from the central plot, obviously.**

 **This is my first story, be easy on me!** **Hope you guys like it so far and I hope to hear what you guys think!**

* * *

The Martells had welcomed the Royal Family with a feast that night; something Elaine and her uncle were very much against. She did not mind the imp so much, as he was much more polite than his nephew. Joffrey made a point to talk about how his father crushed the Targaryens in Robert's Rebellion, as well as brag about taking off Ned Starks' head. Elaine was fortunate that she wasn't to marry Joffrey.

Oberyn was free to do as he pleased, so of course, he did not attend as he had other "matters" to attend to with his paramour, Ellaria. Her younger brother Quentyn was currently serving as a squire in the Boneway, while Arianne apparently had other affairs to attend to as well. Elaine had hardly seen her sister since the royal party had arrived, so it was on her to be there along with Trystane, of course.

After the parties finished eating their dinner, they were shown to their chambers and Elaine joined her father in his. She sat down on his bed, almost pouting over having them there. Why could Oberyn and her sister get out of dinner with them and she couldn't? She wasn't the one getting married, it made no sense to have to meet that little shit of a King.

"I wanted to thank you for playing nice earlier, Elaine." Her father smiled as he joined her on the bed.

"Anything for you." She couldn't help but smile in return, even though it still didn't make her feel any better. "But you never told me why they've come…or rather, why you invited them."

"I told you, Princess. Your brother Trystane is to marry Princess Myrcella. Myrcella will stay here and we will be getting a seat on the small council. It's important that Dorne remains in the fold, and the Lannisters are smart to recognize that."

"Then why are you sending me away to King's Landing?" She felt hurt, as if her father were trying to get rid of her. She was younger than Arianne, the heiress to Dorne, while Quentyn was to become a knight and her brother would be marrying another Princess, what purpose would she serve then? She had no husband, no children, her whole life she was the forgotten child, so it made sense for her to feel like she was being sent away.

He gently cupped her face in comfort, "I'm not sending you away, my love."

"Oh? What is it you're doing then? Because it sure sounds like I'm just being…being shipped off…" Her voice began to raise but she stopped herself before going further. It was hard to believe that she was Prince Doran's daughter, as she had a much shorter temper than he did. The Prince had always been a calm and patient man, however many saw it as a sign of weakness, including her sister Arianne. Elaine herself could see the benefits in having a thoughtful and reasonable ruler like her father, but often found herself frustrated with his lack of action in certain matters, like avenging the death of his sister Elia.

For such a calm and calculating man, he was not sure on how to say what he was supposed to say next, his hand moved from her cheek to her shoulder, "Elaine…do you remember your mother?"

Her jaw tightened, but she was at a loss for words. Her mother had gone back home to Norvos, leaving all of them in Dorne. To her, she had no mother. Her father served as both roles and he served them well, "No…I don't…" she tried to study his face, but it was to no use given her father's hard to read features, "what of her?"

"She was a very beautiful woman, Elaine. She was taken from us too young, however…" she could hear the heartache in his voice so she placed her head on his shoulder. He continued, "It is a shame you don't remember her."

She sighed, "It is…but she left you. She left us, how could I miss a woman like that?" she asked softly, feeling almost empty. While she loved her father dearly, having a motherly role in her life would certainly have eased her upbringing. She thought about how differently it would have been.

"She did not choose to leave us, Elaine." He corrected her, waiting for her response.

"Your wife," Elaine did not speak of her name, "left to Norvos after Trystane was born. She made that decision." She hated hearing about her "mother". Her mother died the day she left them in Sunspear.

"Lady Mellario was not your mother." He said, with a flat tone. He had no other idea how to explain it to her and did not want to dance around it anymore. Elaine had finally reached the age where she would understand.

She sat back up and looked at him, "Sh-she wasn't?"

He pulled her close again, "I'm sorry, Elaine. I wanted to tell you for the longest time but I wanted you to be old enough to understand…"

She felt confused more than anything, if this Lady Mellario was not her mother, then who was the real woman? She almost felt sick at the thought of potentially being a bastard, as celebrated as they were in Dornish customs. "I'm not a bast-"

"No, you're not." He corrected her again, hoping to not overwhelm her with the information he was about to give her.

"Then who is my mother?" She looked him in the eye, as she felt herself growing more anxious. A lump grew in her throat as she waited for his answer.

"Elia Martell." He looked away briefly before returning eye contact with her, "My sister was your mother." He added softly, thinking about the last time he'd seen his sister, right before she and Rhaegar left for King's Landing. He remembered how sick Elaine was as a child, how heartbroken his sister was when she could not bring her with them to the capital. It was the one trait Elaine inherited from her mother, as Elia had always been a sick child too.

Elaine was very confused by this as well, something he expected. Because if Elia Martell, sister of Doran and Oberyn Martell, was her mother, that only meant that…Doran was not her father. She froze momentarily, trying to absorb the new information. Perhaps her father had too much to drink? Or maybe this was just a dream for her? Not a dream, but a nightmare.

He waited for her response, and she simply did not know what reaction to give. Part of her felt hurt for being lied to her whole life; her whole life was a lie if Doran wasn't her true father. At the same time, she remained rational about it. Regardless of _who_ her blood father was, Doran would _always_ be her father.

"Then…who is … if Elia is my mother, who is my blood father?"

He looked away, feeling ashamed for the lie he'd kept for so long. He did not want to say the man's name either. While this man made Elia a happy woman (for a while) and gave him his niece Elaine, he detested him for his betrayal to his sister. "Rhaegar Targaryen was your true father."

Her jaw dropped. Rhaegar? It could not be possible. The Lannisters had her cousins Aegon and Rhaenys slaughtered in the sack of King's Landing. It was simply not possible that her life was somehow spared. "How am I alive then?" She asked.

"You were a sick baby. Your mother wanted to keep you here, where you were born, as the Maester said you would not make the trip to King's Landing." He paused, remembering the promise he made to his younger sister, "She made me promise to raise you as one of my own if she never made it back."

And she didn't, Elaine thought to herself, with her head down. She needed time to herself now. She stood up, "I want to go to my room."

He nodded and let her leave, understanding how she might be feeling. He understood that she might need some time to think over a lot of things.

Before she opened the door, she turned back to the Prince, who now sat alone on his bed, "I want you to know that you will always be my father." She gave a small, reassuring smile because she was not upset with him, "I just need the night to myself."

He smiled back at her, which gave her a small sense of relief. She exited his chambers and made her way back to hers.

* * *

 **Writing Doran is hard, not gonna lie. He's probably my favorite character though.**


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